High School - We learned about our spiritual gifts and Charisms and we took the Spiritual Gifts Inventory. Here's an overview.
Charism is simply the Greek word used in the New Testament for “favor” or “gratuitous gift.” Charisms, or spiritual gifts, are special abilities given to Christians by the Holy Spirit to enable them to be powerful channels of God’s love and redeeming presence in the world. Whether extraordinary or ordinary, charisms are to be used in charity or service to build up the Church. ….grace also includesthe gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his work, to enable us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church.(CCC 2003)
Charisms are gifts given to us to give away. Charisms are always focused outward.
Talents are inherited from our parents. They are natural tools that we were born with. Charisms are supernaturally given to us by God, not to say that the Holy Spirit won’t work with the natural talents you already have, but they are supernaturally empowered.
According to the teachings of the Church all baptized Christians are given charisms, though not all charisms are permanent.
This inventory will help us to discern which charisms we might have by identifying patterns you see in your life. But this is not the be all and end all of your gifts. Remember, some charisms are temporary and all charisms need to be developed through spiritual guidance and discernment.
Our CHARISMS are not super powers to be used for our own benefit. CHARISMS must always be focused outward and rightly ordered in the process of the Church. So if you have an extraordinary charism like prophecy, you must get guidance from a priest to develop this charism for the good of the Body of Christ instead of personal glorification or pride. For a charism to be used best it must be used with humility.
For more info on the spiritual gifts inventory and charisms check out.... www.siena.org
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Val's special note to the youth....
Now remember, the test you took was taken quickly. The workshop usually takes 3 days and there's lots of explanation into each Charism. If you want to know more about the high scores you got on your test come see me and we'll look at the big explanation in the book.
Your charisms are best used serving the Body of Christ, this is best determined by talking with someone who can guide you spiritually. The best bet for this would be a priest (Fr. Charles or Fr. Matthew or another Catholic ordained guy), a religious (Br. Laurence or some other handy dandy Monk or Nun you know), or if absolutely no one else.....maybe a youth minister (Me? uh.... I'd probably just refer you to Fr. Matthew anyways....you know that whole priestly ordination thing takes a lot of studying and wisdom gaining. Hah!)
So don't just wander around saying "I CAN DISCERN IF YOU HAVE AN EVIL SPIRIT IN YOU" if you think you have the charism of discernment of spirits, 'cuz that's not what we took the test for. This inventory was just to give you an idea of qualities you may not have recognized in yourself that can help bring others to Christ and help them live happier and more fulfilled lives. What better gift can you give to Christ but yourself and more souls for his glory?
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